Jacob's ankh/Theories
What did the letter inside the Ankh say? * It seems to be a list of their names. This would go along with early references to lists controlling which of the flight survivors were taken. ** It's a list of our six with the caveat that None of them should die or they'll be in trouble, not just Sayid. ** It is their names, but it's not the O6. Each of the 6 people on the list represent the numbers, and must change in order to save the world. Sayid was on of these numbers, and if he should die, a lot of bad things would have happened. Sawyer was on the list too, which is possibly why he was brought to the temple. ** It was a list of names of the people Jacob touched: Kate, Sawyer, Jack, Jin, Sun, Sayid, and Hurley (and I suppose Locke too) *** What about Miles? They wouldn't just bring him to the Temple if he wasn't on the list, he would have most likely been killed on sight. Miles and Sawyer were caught, Sawyer attempted a fight back but got knocked out, they were asked their names, Miles told them and they were on the list so they were brought to the Temple. **** Miles could have just been allowed in because he was with the group of everyone else that was on the list. *****Agreed, we've already seen his name crossed out in the cave so we know he is no longer a candidate ** On the tapestry (Jacob's tapestry) that Jacob worked in his room under the statue, the image of Ra/Horus touches 9 people with it's light's rays. These people are relevant to Jacob's plan, or "progress" as he calls it , in order to get to an end (This is also why the people in the temple want to save Sayid so badly, he's a fragment of a wider "destiny"). *** The destroyed statue on the island is that of Taweret, Egyptian god of child berth and fertility. It is also said in Egyptian mythology that Taweret became the demon wife of Apep. Ra just happened to be the nemesis of Apep in an epic battle between good and evil. Jacob can be seen as Ra while the MIB is Apep. Perhaps the destruction of the statue has something to do with the why women die during child birth on the island. ** It would be consistent with what has been said about Jacob's penchant for lists, for the note to include a list. But it is not a "new" list. This note had to have been written prior to Jacob's meeting with Hurley in the cab. Jacob (or whoever it was who met Hurley in the cab and gave him the guitar case) had to have foreseen the need for the list. ** It was a new Jacob's list. There is no reason to assume it is not the original one previously referenced. Ben could have easily lied when he alleged that Jack, Kate and Sawyer were not on the list. We now definitively know that Ben had never seen Jacob in all his years on the island until he killed him. So there is no reason to think Ben actually knew who was on the list. It is the one and only list, and its purpose is to tell his followers the names of those essential to winning the conflict. *It wasn't was a list. It said something like "The Smoke Monster's going to possess Sayid". Dogen asks for their names to determine which one is Sayid, and upon seeing he's close to death, interprets this as meaning he needs to save him from death. **He wasn't about to be or is possessed by the smoke monster. They poured ash all around the temple before he came back to life, and the smoke monster was on the other side of the island carrying Richard. ***To be more literal, Lennon said the note implied "We're in a lot of trouble if your friend dies". The note mentioned Sayid by name, and they had to give their names so they could see which one was Sayid. *It was mentioned elsewhere that the Jacob that appeared to Hurley and told him to go to the Temple might have actually been Nemesis, and that he would have authored/changed the letter. But we have no reason to think the message is not from Jacob. Considering all the trouble Jacob went through to get the Losties back on the island, it is very likely that the letter orders the Temple Others to ensure the safety of their prisoners. Jacob probably gave the letter to Hurley because he knew that he would be dead when the Losties returned to the island and that Hurley would be the only one able to communicate with a dead guy. *An Ankh is a symbol of life, or the "Key of Life". The letter being inside this key, may indicate that whatever is written on that letter is going to save the Island Inhabitants from impending doom. It isn't probable that a letter written and place into a key of life would have been created by the Nemesis, rather it was likely created by Jacob and meant to be used for "good". Because Dogen asked for names, it would probably mean that at least one name was written on the paper, indicating that they are they "key to life". It is Sayid because his "resurrection" (also associated with the ankh) would mean hope for the Island. *As we see in season 5 Jacob visits everyone on the list even James Ford but not Miles (I maybe wrong about Miles.) Therefore, he has a plan for everyone on it and sees the end and has to keep them alive so the island can use them as needed. **Miles, however, was born in the Island. ***Miles may have received Jacob's touch early in his life which also is the source of his power.